This is part two of a five part essay on The History Channel's Miniseries titled THE BIBLE. All Scripture Quoted her will be from The ISR scriptures 1998 edition You will see that The Name of Our Heavenly Father is rendered in Hebrew..
The details of the
meeting with Rahab are vague in the scriptures, so right or wrong cannot be
stated. This author envisions a friendlier
encounter. Some things are noteworthy
though, the scripture clearly shows Rahab hiding them on the roof, and lying to
the guards.
“And Yehoshua son of Nun
secretly sent out two men from Shittim to spy, saying, “Go, see the land, and
Yeriḥo.” And they went, and
came to the house of a woman, a whore, and her name was Raḥaḇ,
and they lay down there. But it was reported to the sovereign of Yeriḥo, saying, “See, men from the children of Yisra’ĕl
have come here tonight to search out the land.” And the sovereign of Yeriḥo sent to Raḥaḇ,
saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house,
for they have come to search out all the land.” But the woman had taken the two
men and hid them. So she said, “The men came to me, but I did not know where
they were from. Then it came to be as the gate was being shut, when it was
dark, that the men went out. I do not know where the men went. Pursue them
quickly, so that you overtake them.” But she had brought them up to the roof
and hidden them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid out on the roof.
And the men pursued them by the way to the Yardĕn, to the fords. And they shut
the gate afterwards as soon as the pursuers had gone out. “
(Joshua 2:1-7 The Scriptures 1998+)
They told Rahab to hand
a scarlet thread out her window, not tie a belt to her door.
“ And the men
said to her, “We are released from this oath of yours which you have made us
swear, unless, when we come into the land, you bind this line of scarlet cord
in the window through which you let us down, and unless you bring your father,
and your mother, and your brothers, and all your father’s household to your own
home. “
(Joshua 2:17-18 The
Scriptures 1998+)
The story of Sampson has
so much changed from the truth that it would take less space to mention the one
thing that is in line with scripture. The
first variation is the producers gave the Philistines credit for being better
armed and better trained, instead of stating what the scripture says. The Israelites were put under the Philistines
because of their disobedience.
“And again the children of
Yisra’ĕl did evil in the eyes of יהוה, so יהוה gave them into the hand of
the Philistines for forty years.”
(Judges 13:1 The Scriptures 1998+)
By having the narrator mention
the superiority of the Philistines, they take away from the power of The
Almighty! Our Creator will protect them as long as they worship Him, and not idols! Then they show Sampson running from the
Philistines, this is not mentioned in scripture. The show has Sampson beg his mother for permission
to marry the girl from Timnah.
“And Shimshon went down to
Timnah, and saw a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines. And he
went up and informed his father and mother, saying, “I have seen a woman in
Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines. And now, take her for me for a
wife.” But his father and mother said to him, “Is there no woman among the
daughters of your brothers, or among all my people, that you should take a wife
from the uncircumcised Philistines?” And Shimshon said to his father, “Take her
for me, for she is pleasing in my eyes.”
(Judges 14:1-3 The
Scriptures 1998+)
Why did they not have
Sampson’s father in this scene? They
skip the riddle at the wedding feast and instead pretend that a Philistine is
jealous of the Israelites. They then
show Sampson’s wife being burned, but for the wrong reason! The real reason that Sampson’s wife was
burned is because she was given to another man after being married to Sampson.
“And it came to be, after some
time, in the days of wheat harvest, that Shimshon visited his wife with a young
goat. And he said, “Let me go in to my wife, into her room.” But her father
would not permit him to go in. And her father said, “Indeed, I thought that you
hated her intensely; so I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister
better than she? Please, take her instead.” And Shimshon said to them, “This
time I am blameless regarding the Philistines if I do evil to them!” And
Shimshon went and caught three hundred foxes, and took torches, and turned them
tail to tail, and put a torch between each pair of tails, and set the torches
on fire, and sent them out into the standing grain of the Philistines, and
burned up both the shocks and the standing grain, even the vineyards and
olive-trees. And the Philistines said, “Who did this?” And they answered,
“Shimshon, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he took away his wife and
gave her to his companion.” Then the Philistines went up and burned her and her
father with fire.”
(Judges 15:1-6 The
Scriptures 1998+)
She was burned to show
that adultery is not tolerated. The
writers do not show this. Instead, they
show her being burned to torment the Israelites and make a statement about
foreigners. The truth is, she was burned
to appease Sampson for the wrong that was done to him. They then have Sampson take revenge for his
dead wife, and return to his homeland.
Next, a small band of Philistines come to arrest him. They show one of them kill an Israelite and
promise to kill more until Sampson is delivered to them. Is this how it is in The Real Bible? Here is the scripture.
“The Philistines then went up
and encamped in Yehuḏah,
and spread out against Leḥi.
And the men of Yehuḏah
said, “Why have you come up against us?” And they answered, “We have come up to
bind Shimshon, to do to him as he has done to us.” Then three thousand men of
Yehuḏah went down to the cleft
of the rock of Ěytam and said to Shimshon, “Do you not know that the
Philistines are rulers over us? Why have you have done this to us?” And he said
to them, “As they did to me, so I did to them.” And they said to him, “We have
come down to bind you, to give you into the hand of the Philistines.” And
Shimshon said to them, “Swear to me not to fall on me yourselves.” And they
spoke to him, saying, “No, but we are certainly going to bind you, and shall
give you into their hand but certainly not kill you.” So they bound him with
two new ropes and brought him up from the rock. When he came to Leḥi, the Philistines came shouting to meet him. And
the Spirit of יהוה came
mightily upon him. And the ropes that were on his arms became like flax that is
burned with fire, and his bonds broke loose from his hands. And he found a
fresh jawbone of a donkey, and put out his hand and took it, and smote a
thousand men with it. And Shimshon said, “With the jawbone of a donkey, one
heap, two heaps, with the jawbone of a donkey I have smitten a thousand men!”
(Judges 15:9-16 The Scriptures 1998+)
The scriptures mention
nothing about killing an innocent man; instead, the army was camped around a
city to make war. Then Sampson is
taken. This is important because it was
the tribe of Judah which handed over the savior. This is a shadow of what is yet to come. The writers and producers failed to make an
important point. They show Sampson
chained to gallows, the scriptures say he was bound with ropes. A jaw bone is used in their show, but the
scriptures say it was from a donkey that recently died. After the fight, according to the scriptures,
Sampson gives praise that he killed the Philistines that would have made war
with Israel, and is questioning if he is to die of thirst. A rock splits and gives him water to drink.
“And Shimshon said, “With the jawbone of a donkey,
one heap, two heaps, with the jawbone of a donkey I have smitten a thousand
men!” And it came to be, when he had ended speaking, that he threw the jawbone
from his hand, and called that place Ramath Leḥi. And he became very thirsty, and cried out to יהוה and
said, “You have given this great deliverance by the hand of Your servant. And
now, am I to die of thirst and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?” And
Elohim split the hollow place that is in Leḥi,
and water came out, and he drank. And his spirit came back, and he revived. So
he called its name Ěn Haqqore, which is in Leḥi to
this day. And he ruled Yisra’ĕl twenty years in the days of the Philistines.”
(Judges 15:16-20 The Scriptures 1998+)
In the show, Delilah
gives him water. He actually does not
meet Delilah until much later. A
narrator could have covered this; instead, the producers miss another
opportunity to show an example of The Messiah (life giving water from the
rock)! They rush through the story of Delilah
so fast that they make Sampson look like a fool! Then they show Sampson struggling to break
the pillars of the building. The
scriptures state that he put his arms around them and bowed down.
“And the princes of the
Philistines gathered to offer a great slaughtering to Daḡon their mighty one, and to rejoice. And they
said, “Our mighty one has given Shimshon our enemy into our hands!” And the
people saw him, and praised their mighty one, for they said, “Our mighty one
has given into our hands our enemy, the destroyer of our land, who slew many of
us.” And it came to be, when their hearts were glad, that they said, “Call for
Shimshon, and let him entertain us.” So they called for Shimshon from the
prison, and he entertained them. And they made him stand between the columns.
And Shimshon said to the young man who held him by the hand, “Let me alone and
let me feel the columns which support the house, so that I lean on them.” And
the house was filled with men and women. And all the princes of the Philistines
were there. And about three thousand men and women were on the roof who watched
Shimshon entertaining. And Shimshon called to יהוה, saying, “O Master יהוה,
remember me, I pray! Strengthen me, I pray, only this time, O Elohim, and let
me avenge myself on the Philistines with vengeance for my two eyes!” And
Shimshon took hold of the two middle columns which supported the house, and he
braced himself against them, one on his right and the other on his left. And
Shimshon said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” And he bowed himself
mightily, and the house fell on the princes and all the people in it. And the
dead that he killed at his death were more than he had killed in his life. And
his brothers and all his father’s household came down and took him, and brought
him up and buried him between Tsorʽah and Eshta’ol in the tomb
of his father Manowaḥ. And he had ruled Yisra’ĕl
twenty years.”
(Judges 16:23-31 The Scriptures 1998+)
They
then have Sampson’s mother cry over her dead son. As you just read, it was his brothers and his
father who came, and they came to bury him.
The stories of Samuel
and Saul are fairly accurate. The
scriptures do say that no razor was to come upon the head of Samuel, and Samuel
is shown with short hair, but this is not to say that Samuel’s mother kept her
promise. The writers combine two stories
of Saul to save time. The only major discrepancy here is the king of the Amalekites. In the show, they have Samuel kill the caged
king in a fit of rage. The scripture
tells this story differently.
“And Shemu’ĕl said, “Bring Aḡaḡ
sovereign of the Amalĕqites here to me.” So Aḡaḡ
came to him delightedly, and Aḡaḡ said, “Truly, the bitterness of death has turned
aside.” And Shemu’ĕl said, “As your sword bereaved women, let your mother be
bereaved among women too.” Shemu’ĕl then hewed Aḡaḡ
to pieces before יהוה in
Gilgal.”
(1 Samuel 15:32-33 The Scriptures
1998+)
The story of David being
anointed is next, and again this stays close to scripture. Actually, the next couple of stories are not
too far from scripture. The scriptures
do say that the one who killed Goliath would be wed to Saul’s daughter; this is
not part of Saul’s speech. The spear is
thrust at David many times, and after he returns with the Philistine’s
foreskins is not one of those times. The
scripture clearly shows that a household idol is put in David’s bed to fool
Saul.
“And Sha’ul sent messengers to Dawiḏ’s house to watch him and to put him to death in
the morning. And Miḵal,
Dawiḏ’s wife, informed him,
saying, “If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you are put to death.”
So Miḵal
let Dawiḏ
down through a window, and he went and fled and escaped. And Miḵal took the household idol and laid it in the
bed, and put a cover of goats’ hair for his head, and covered it with a
garment. And when Sha’ul sent messengers to take Dawiḏ, she said, “He is sick.” And Sha’ul sent the
messengers back to see Dawiḏ,
saying, “Bring him up to me in the bed to put him to death.” And the messengers
came in and saw the household idol in the bed, with a cover of goats’ hair
for his head.”
(1 Samuel 19:11-16 The Scriptures 1998+)
Why do they not show this? The incident at Nob is poorly portrayed. Saul
does order the death of the priests, but the scriptures clearly show that his
guards refused. The Edomite later
complies.
“And the sovereign sent someone
to call Aḥimeleḵ the priest, son of Aḥituḇ,
and all his father’s house, the priests who were in Noḇ. And they all came to the sovereign, and Sha’ul
said, “Hear now, son of Aḥituḇ!” And he answered, “Here I am, my master.” And
Sha’ul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of
Yishai, by giving him bread and a sword, and have inquired of Elohim for him,
to rise against me, to lie in wait, as it is this day?” And Aḥimeleḵ
answered the sovereign and said, “And who among all your servants is so
trustworthy as Dawiḏ,
who is the sovereign’s son-in-law, and has turned aside to your counsel, and is
esteemed in your house? “Have I today begun to inquire of Elohim for him? Far
be it from me! Let not the sovereign lay a case against his servant, or against
any in the house of my father. For your servant knew not of all this, little or
much.” And the sovereign said, “You shall certainly die, Aḥimeleḵ,
you and all your father’s house!” The sovereign then said to the guards who stood
about him, “Turn and put the priests of יהוה to death, because their
hand also is with Dawiḏ, and because they knew when
he fled and did not reveal it to me.” But the servants of the sovereign would
not lift their hands to come against the priests of יהוה. And
the sovereign said to Do’ĕḡ, “You turn and come against
the priests!” So Do’ĕḡ the Eḏomite turned and came against the priests, and put to
death on that day eighty-five men who wore a linen shoulder garment. And he
smote Noḇ, the city of the priests,
with the edge of the sword, from men even to women, from children even to
nursing infants, and oxen and donkeys and sheep, with the edge of the sword.”
(1 Samuel 22:11-19 The Scriptures
1998+)
In the show, this is not
so. To save time, they skip a lot of
important scenes. the next scene in the
show is Saul camped against David and his men.
According to the scriptures, when David cuts off the corner of Saul’s
robe, Saul is humbled and says that David is more righteous than him.
“And afterward Dawiḏ arose and went out of the cave, and called out
to Sha’ul, saying, “My master the sovereign!” And when Sha’ul looked behind
him, Dawiḏ
bowed with his face to the earth, and did obeisance. And Dawiḏ said to Sha’ul, “Why do you listen to the words
of men who say, ‘See, Dawiḏ
seeks to do you evil’? “See, this day your eyes have seen that יהוה gave
you today into my hand in the cave, and one said to slay you. But my eye
pardoned you, and I said, ‘I do not stretch out my hand against my master, for
he is the anointed of יהוה.’ “And
my father, see! Yea, see the corner of your robe in my hand! For in that I cut
off the corner of your robe, and did not slay you, know and see that there is
neither evil nor rebellion in my hand, and I have not sinned against you, while
you are hunting my life to take it. “Let יהוה judge between you and me,
and let יהוה
revenge me on you, but my hand is not against you. “As the proverb of the
ancients says, ‘Wrong comes from the wrongdoer.’ But my hand is not against
you. “After whom has the sovereign of Yisra’ĕl come out? Whom do you pursue? A
dead dog? A flea? “And יהוה shall
be judge, and rightly rule between you and me, and see and plead my case, and
rightly rule me out of your hand.” And it came to be, when Dawiḏ had ended speaking these words to Sha’ul, that Sha’ul
said, “Is this your voice, my son Dawiḏ?” So Sha’ul lifted up his
voice and wept. And he said to Dawiḏ, “You are more righteous
than I, for you have rewarded me with good, whereas I have rewarded you with
evil. “And you have shown today how you have done good to me, for when יהוה
surrendered me into your hand you did not slay me. “For if a man finds his
enemy, shall he let him get away safely? And let יהוה reward you with good for
what you have done to me today. “And now look, I know that you shall certainly
reign, and that the reign of Yisra’ĕl shall be established in your hand. “And
now, swear to me by יהוה that
you do not cut off my seed after me, nor destroy my name from my father’s
house.” And Dawiḏ swore to Sha’ul. Then
Sha’ul went home, and Dawiḏ and his men went up to the
stronghold.”
(1 Samuel 24:8-22 The Scriptures
1998+)
The conversation on the
show did not go this way! The last thing
that the show has is the death of Saul. The scriptures say that Saul was
wounded, and begged for someone to put him out of his misery. The show has Saul kill himself because of
self pity.
“And the battle went hard against Sha’ul, and the
archers hit him, so that he was severely wounded by the archers. And Sha’ul
said to his armour-bearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it,
lest these uncircumcised men come and thrust me through and roll themselves on
me.” But his armour-bearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. So Sha’ul took
the sword and fell on it. And when his armour-bearer saw that Sha’ul was dead,
he also fell on his sword, and died with him.”
(1 Samuel 31:3-5 The
Scriptures 1998+)
The scripture shows that
the person bringing this news to David lies and says that he lifted his hand
against the king. David then kills this
liar.
“And Dawiḏ said to the young man who informed him, “How do
you know that Sha’ul and Yehonathan his son are dead?”
(2 Samuel 1:5)
“So I stood beside him and put
him to death, for I knew he would not live after he had fallen. And I took the
diadem that was on his head and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have
brought them here to my master.”
(2 Samuel 1:10)
Then Dawiḏ asked the young man who informed him, “Where are
you from?” And he answered, “I am the son of a sojourner, an Amalĕqite.” And
Dawiḏ said to him, “How was it
you were not afraid to stretch out your hand to destroy the anointed of יהוה?” And
Dawiḏ called one of the young men and said, “Draw near and
fall on him!” And he smote him so that he died. And Dawiḏ said to him, “Your blood is on your own head, for your
own mouth has witnessed against you, saying, ‘I myself have put to death the
anointed of יהוה.’ ””
(2 Samuel 1:13-16 The Scriptures
1998+)
In the show, this is not so. According to the scriptures, when Nathan
tells the prophecy of the temple, he is very plain to say that Our Heavenly
Father has never dwelt in a house made by men, nor has HE ever asked for one to
be built! Nathan then says the builder
of the temple will be born after David dies, and that the builder of the temple
will be Elohim’s Son, and will be reproved by the rod of men.
““Go and say to My servant Dawiḏ, ‘Thus said יהוה, “Would you build a house
for Me to dwell in? “For I have not dwelt in a house since the time that I
brought the children of Yisra’ĕl up from Mitsrayim, even to this day, but have
moved about in a Tent and in a Dwelling Place. “Wherever I have walked with all
the children of Yisra’ĕl, have I ever spoken a word to anyone from the tribes
of Yisra’ĕl, whom I commanded to shepherd My people Yisra’ĕl, saying, ‘Why have
you not built Me a house of cedar?’ ” ’
(2 Samuel 7:5-7)
“When your days are filled and
you rest with your fathers, I shall raise up your seed after you, who comes
from your inward parts, and shall establish his reign. “He does build a house
for My Name, and I shall establish the throne of his reign forever. “I am to be
his Father, and he is My son. If he does perversely, I shall reprove him with
the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men.”
(2 Samuel 7:12-14
The Scriptures 1998+)
Since many people get
this wrong, this author is not surprised that the producers of the show did
too. The biggest difference between this
show and scripture in this story though, is the story of Bathsheba. When Nathan comes to rebuke David, according
to the scriptures, David is immediately struck with a contrite heart.
“Then Nathan said to Dawiḏ, “You are the man! Thus said יהוה Elohim
of Yisra’ĕl, ‘I anointed you sovereign over Yisra’ĕl, and I delivered you from
the hand of Sha’ul. ‘And I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives
into your bosom, and gave you the house of Yisra’ĕl and Yehuḏah. And if that were not enough, I also would have given
you much more! ‘Why have you despised the Word of יהוה to do evil in His eyes? You
have killed Uriyah the Ḥittite with the sword, and
his wife you took to be your wife, and you have killed him with the sword of
the children of Ammon. ‘And now, the sword does not turn aside from your house,
because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriyah the Ḥittite to be your wife.’ “Thus said יהוה, ‘See,
I am raising up evil against you, from your own house, and shall take your
wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbour, and he shall lie with
your wives in the sight of this sun. ‘For you did it in secret, but I shall do
this deed before all Yisra’ĕl, and before the sun.’ ” And Dawiḏ said to Nathan, “I have sinned against יהוה.” And
Nathan said to Dawiḏ, “Also, יהוה has
put away your sin, you shall not die.”
(2 Samuel 12:7-13 The Scriptures
1998+)
The show makes David
rebellious. In the scriptures, David
fasts and mourns while his son is dying, and then accepts his punishment after
his son’s death and eats.
“And his servants said to him,
“What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept because of the living
child, but when the child died, you rose up and ate food.” And he said, “While
the child was alive I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows whether יהוה shows
favour unto me, and the child shall live?’ “But now he is dead, why should I
fast? Am I able to bring him back again? I am going to him, but he does not
return to me.””
(2 Samuel 12:21-23 The Scriptures
1998+)
The show fails to demonstrate this.
